NFL Week 12 Primer: Cincinnati Bengals (0-10) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5)

The Bengals and Steelers are meeting for the second time this season. Pittsburgh won the first game in prime time pretty easily and it never felt close after the first quarter. However, this game has the makings to be more competitive.

The Steelers are dealing with a ton of injuries leaving them possibly shorthanded. Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster are going through concussion protocol, and James Conner re-injured his shoulder on Thursday Night Football.

It still isn’t a situation where Bengals’ fans should feel confident, even if their team is at home for this game. The offense and defense have yet to put a game together where they are both clicking. Last week the defense held out as long as they could, and they even set the offense up with several chances to either take the lead or tie. Rookie Ryan Finley just never was able to take advantage of that. Can that change this week?

Everything you need to know for when the Bengals host the Steelers:

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (0-10) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5)

Date/Time: Nov. 24th, 2019 at 1:oo p.m. EST

Location: Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio

Series Leader: The Steelers lead the series at 63-35

Streak: The Steelers have won the past eight meetings

Coaches vs. Opponent: Zac Taylor: (0-1). Mike Tomlin (20-5)

Television: The game will air on CBS-TV. In Cincinnati, it will be carried by WKRC-TV (Ch. 12). Broadcasters are Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), James Lofton (analyst) and John Schriffen (sideline reporter).

Radio: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

SB Nation Steelers’ site: Behind the Steel Curtain

Weather: Mid 30’s, mostly cloudy [NFL weather]

Odds: Bengals, +7 [Odds Shark]

Bengals Notes

• Quarterback Ryan Finley (rookie) had 115 pass yards and 47 rushing yards in Week 11.
• Running back Joe Mixon had 103 scrimmage yards (86 rushing and 17 receiving) and a rushing touchdown last week. He has touchdowns in three of his past four games. He has at least 80 scrimmage yards in two of his past three games against the Steelers. He aims for his third in a row at home against the division with at least 150 scrimmage yards.
• Wide receiver Tyler Boyd has 31 catches and 362 receiving yards (90.5 per game) in four home games in 2019. He had seven catches for 62 receiving yards and two touchdown catches in his last home meeting against Pittsburgh. He has four receiving touchdowns in his past four games at home against the division. Boyd aims for his fifth in a row at home against the AFC North with at least six catches and 60 receiving yards. Wide receiver Auden Tate had 50 receiving yards in the Week 4 meeting. He has at least 50 receiving yards in four of his past five games.
• Defensive tackle Geno Atkins had five tackles and 1.5 sacks in Week 11, his 14th career game with at least 1.5 sacks. Defensive end Carl Lawson had a sack last week and has a sack in two of his past three games. Line backer Nick Vigil had a team-high 12 tackles and fumble recovery last week. He had 11 tackles, two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble in the Week 4 meeting and aims for his third in a row against Pittsburgh with at least 11 tackles and a tackle for a loss. Safety Jessie Bates had seven tackles and an interception in Week 11. He aims for his third in a row with an interception, fourth in a row with a pass deflected and sixth in a row with at least seven tackles.

Steelers Notes

• Quarterback Mason Rudolph completed 24 of 28 passes (85.7 percent) for 229 yards and two touchdowns without an interception for a 124.6 passer rating in the Week 4 meeting. He has a passer rating of at least 100 in two of his past three games against the AFC North.
• Running back James Conner had a career-high eight catches for 83 receiving yards in the Week 4 meeting. He had 111 rush yards and two rushing touchdowns in the last meeting at Cincinnati. He has five touchdowns in his past five games. He aims for his fourth in a row against the Bengals with at least 90 scrimmage yards.
• Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster had seven catches for 111 receiving yards in his last meeting at Cincinnati. He has at least five catches and 75 receiving yards in three of his past four games on the road against the division. Rookie wide receiver Dionte Johnson had a career-high six catches for 77 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in the Week 4 meeting. Tight end Vance McDonald had seven catches for 68 receiving yards in his last meeting at Cincinnati.
• Linebacker T.J. Watt had four tackles, a sack and a pass deflected last week. He has 10.5 sacks, third-most through 10 games in franchise history. He had 1.5 sacks in his last meeting with the Bengals. He aims for his third in a row against the Bengals with a sack and fifth in a row overall with sack. Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward had a 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the Week 4 meeting. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has four interceptions in his past four games. Linebacker Devin Bush leads all rookies with 74 tackles. He had nine tackles, three tackles for a loss, a sack and a pass defended in the Week 4 meeting.